At the 17th International Conference of Space Opperations, which took place in Dubai on 6-10 March, Rodrigo Laurinovičs, a student of the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences bachelor's degree programme "Electronic Engineering", together with the European Space Agency (ESA) OPS-SAT team received the International SpaceOps Award for Outstanding Achievement. This award recognises outstanding contributions to the mission and the ability to cope with difficult conditions during the operation. 

OPS-SAT led by David Evans is the world’s first mission dedicated to improving mission operations and testing new satellite control technology. OPS-SAT was also the first ESA-owned and operated nanosatellite. The mission achieved its goal of enabling in-flight experimentation for mission-critical operations in 2019 after a successful satellite launch. Brand new communication prototypes where demonstrated, which were then used on future ESA missions. 

Since 1 March 2022 Rodrigo has been a trainee at ESA, whose mission is to build and develop Europe's space capabilities and ensure that investment in space brings benefits to Europe's citizens and industry. He is the first student from Latvia to have the opportunity to do a traineeship at ESA. This was made possible thanks to the contribution of IrbGS Ltd, the spinoff company of the Ventspils International Radio Astronomy Centre, and Mārcis Donerblics. The traineeship now has been extended by one more year. 

Rodrigo's main tasks so far have been to keep the satellite "alive" in a non-standard approach, where experiments have the possibility to modify the physical structure of the system to optimise it for a given experiment. As well as being involved with the team in solving the active problems, which in recent months have been massive file corruption. He admits that there is no shortage of work and the interest in the work does not wane, as there are always a variety of unique tasks to be performed.